NEW STORES AND
YOUNG DESIGNERS
DRIVE MENSWEAR’S
CHANGING FACE
AND GROWING
POPULARITY IN
NEW ORLEANS.

U

ntil recently, local menswear
options were limited to a
handful of specialty stores
and chains. But there has been a
resurgence of menswear options
in New Orleans, including recently
opened stores like Aristocracy
Nola (305 Decatur St., 504-309-7433;
www.aristocracynola.com) and
Fraques (821 Baronne St., 504373-6153; www.fraques.com) and
emerging menswear designers.
When Jason Pham, co-owner of
Aristocracy Nola, opened his store
in December 2013, he chose to
focus on men’s streetwear.
“Street style is whatever you feel
like throwing on,” Pham says. “There
are no boundaries. I think in life
there are too many boundaries.”
Pham tries to provide what’s lacking in the menswear options when
selecting what to sell at his store.
He says his customers are becoming
more adventurous in their choices.
“When I did my inventory, I tried
to play it safe, [choosing] 60 percent normal clothes and 40 percent
kind of funky [clothes],” Pham says.
“Now when I’m picking my clothes
I’m jumping off the cliff. The city’s
ready to embrace it.”
As demand for on-trend menswear increases, so do style options.
Men are doing research and
have stronger ideas about how
they want to present themselves
through personal style, Pham says.
Fashion blogs, street-style websites
and online shopping help men
become more open-minded when
selecting their clothing.

“I think what helps out a lot is
the Internet,” Pham says. “In the
’90s when the Internet wasn’t
[used by] a lot of people, if you saw
a dude from New York come down
here, it was like, ‘What does he
have on?’”
Frank D’Amico and Jacques
Couvillon, co-owners of Fraques,
say men want pleasant and hassle-free shopping.
“Our regular customers are
people who are looking for the
shopping experience,” Couvillon
says. “They don’t want to drive out
to the mall and park 20 minutes
away. ... They don’t like to be
pressured by salespeople. We have
people that come in here with their
dogs. They can’t do that somewhere else.”

FASHION

Couvillon and D’Amico opened
Fraques after noticing a lack of
variety available for men.
“We’ve always had a passion for
style and clothes and looking your
best,” D’Amico says. “We thought
that New Orleans is ready for our
kind of store.”
At Fraques, men can style a
wardrobe, pick up items for their
home, travel and more.
“The name Fraques is a combination of our names, Frank and
Jacques, and if you look around
[the store], you can see that’s
exactly what it is,” Couvillon says.
“It’s a part of both of us. We have
art and architecture books, we
have home goods. It’s more about
a matter of lifestyle.”
Couvillon and D’Amico try to

educate customers about different
clothing styles and fits.
“It’s about getting people in here
and showing them that you can
change your style without being
scared that your co-workers or
other people around you are going
to be shocked,” D’Amico says.
Eighteen-year-old New Orleanian
Randy Gervais, creator of Checker
Box socks (www.checkerboxusa.
com), offers fresh designs in dress
socks. Gervais created Checker Box
socks in 2013 to offer men more
choices and bolder looks.
“With men, there’s only so much
you can do to add to your outfit,”
Gervais says. “You only see polka
dots, stripes and argyle for men.”
Now Checker Box socks are sold
at Rubensteins (102 St. Charles
Ave., 504-581-6666; www.rubensteinsneworleans. com) and the gift
shop at The Roosevelt Hotel (130
Roosevelt Way, 504-648-1200; www.
therooseveltneworleans.com). Next
up for Gervais are casual socks,
which he’ll release next month.
Rahsaan Ison, creator of Ison
Bowties (www.facebook.com/isonbowtiesetc), launched his bow tie
line in New Orleans when he was 13
years old. Now 15, Ison offers quirky
designs he calls “wearable art.”
“Ison bow ties are for people
who like standing out from the
crowd,” Ison says. He notes the
change in men’s attitudes toward
fashion as a factor in the menswear
renaissance. “When people start to
stray from the crowd, they start to
find themselves,” Ison says.
D’Amico says a good outfit can
boost self-esteem and help people
have a better day. “It’s such a simple thing, putting clothes on, but
it makes such a difference in their
confidence and what they feel like
they can do,” D’Amico says. “If you
walk out of our store and have no
insecurities, you’re going to have a
great rest of your day.”